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enCongolese Mennonites suffer atrocities amid displacement of 1.4 millionhttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/congolese-mennonites-suffer-atrocities-amid-displacement-14-million
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><em>WARNING: This story contains graphic descriptions of violence.</em></p>
<p>Dozens of Congolese Mennonites have been killed, hundreds of their homes have been burned, and thousands of them have fled, as violence consumes the Kasai region, birthplace of the Mennonite church in the Democratic Republic of Congo.</p>
<p>Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) reports 36 confirmed deaths of Mennonites, 12 church schools destroyed or attacked, 16 churches destroyed or attacked, and 342 homes destroyed. Those numbers may rise in the coming days.</p>
<p>Speaking through a translator via Skype, Pastor Adolphe Komuesa Kalunga—head of the Mennonite Church of Congo as well as an elected member of the government of President Joseph Kabila—emphasized that it is difficult for church leaders to communicate with people in the Kasai region because many are in hiding in the forests.</p>
<p>Those Mennonites are among an estimated 1.4 million displaced people in the region, including roughly 850,000 children. The death toll is more than 3,000.</p>
<p>The violence started last year with tension between the government and a chief in Tshimbulu, a town in a region considered opposed to the government. After being sidelined by the government, the chief, who carried the traditional title Kamuina Nsapu, formed a rebel militia that destroyed a local government post. Government forces then killed him and refused to return his body.</p>
<p>The chief’s militia, also under the name Kamuina Nsapu, then grew, fuelled by unequal distribution of wealth, disenfranchisement and adherence to a particular deity that rebel leaders claimed would render fighters invincible.</p>
<p>Government forces responded by reportedly killing indiscriminately door to door in areas associated with the rebels. This spring, as hostilities continued, a second particularly brutal militia—Bana Mura—was formed with participation of elements of the government, <a href="http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=57309#.WZZapMYZOV4" rel="nofollow">according to the UN.</a> Much of the violence fell along ethnic lines, with all sides reportedly guilty of atrocities. Entire villages were destroyed on the basis of ethnicity.</p>
<p><em><strong>Gruesome accounts</strong></em></p>
<p>A Mennonite assessment team made up of Congolese church people heard stories of mutilations, beheadings and sexual violence. The team met with a range of survivors, including some Mennonites, in <a href="http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Tshikapa_(Democratic_Republic_of_the_Congo)" rel="nofollow">Tshikapa</a> and Kikwit.</p>
<p>Rod Hollinger-Janzen, executive coordinator of <a href="http://www.aimmintl.org" rel="nofollow">African Inter-Mennonite Mission (AIMM)</a>, which has been involved in the region since 1912, visited Congo in July 2017. He spoke with Joseph Nkongolo, a member of the assessment team. Nkongolo recounted the story of a mother handing a newborn baby to her six-year-old daughter before being killed along with her husband. The rebels then sent the girl away with the baby.</p>
<p>Another woman witnessed her husband’s decapitation and was then forced to carry his head to a sort of altar used by the killers. Hollinger-Janzen saw pictures of heads gathered around an idol-like figure.</p>
<p>Children witnessed their parents being hacked to death with machetes.</p>
<p>Roughly a third of the people the assessment team spoke with were too traumatized to even say whether their greatest need was water, food or clothing. Some families were eating only one meal a day.</p>
<p>While Nkongolo appeared “shattered" by what he witnessed, Hollinger-Janzen expressed deep admiration for the strength of the assessment team members. “They are carrying the pain of so many people.”</p>
<p>Earlier this summer, Hollinger-Janzen learned via an email from Adolphine Tshiama, president of the women’s organization of the Mennonite Church of Congo, that her brother and several of his family members had been killed by the Bana Mura militia in two separate attacks. On Aug. 6, her sister-in-law, niece and three of her niece's children—all thought to be dead—miraculously showed up after hiding in the forest for nearly three months.</p>
<p>Tshiama was unavailable for an interview due to illness.</p>
<p>At the Kalonda Bible Institute, several kilometres outside Tshikapa, the army moved onto the mission compound next to the school. Amid severe tension, the school relocated to a church compound in Tshikapa, where graduation was held in July.</p>
<p><em><strong>Cursed with wealth</strong></em></p>
<p>The history of Congo, formerly Zaire, is drenched in violence and exploitation. The second-largest country in Africa, it gained independence from Belgium’s oppressive control in 1960. Four years later, Mobutu Sese Seku seized power in a coup, beginning 32 notoriously ruthless years in power. With massive mineral wealth generated in the country, he reportedly embezzled billions of dollars while enjoying American support.</p>
<p>In 1994, following the Hutu-led genocide in neighbouring Rwanda, Mobutu sided with Hutus who fled to Congo and wanted to attack Tutsis in the country. That mushroomed into a war that cost five million lives. In 1997, Mobutu was replaced by Laurent-Desire Kabila, whose son Joseph is now president.</p>
<p>Despite vast mineral deposits, Congo ranks 176 out of 188 countries on the UN Human Development Index. Kasai is a particularly poor region.</p>
<p>Although the constitution required the younger Kabila to step down when his second eight-year term ended in 2016, he has delayed a vote, saying the government cannot afford the required voter-registration process.</p>
<p>As reported by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jul/20/drc-vast-business-network-of-president-who-wont-step-down-revealed" rel="nofollow"><em>The Guardian</em> newspaper</a>, polls indicate Kabila would lose badly if elections were held now. He, along with his family, reportedly control an extensive network of business interests in the country. This all contributes to instability and foment, especially in impoverished opposition areas.</p>
<p>Some have suggested the killing of Kamuina Nsapu was intended to create chaos that would further delay an election.</p>
<p><strong><em>Mennonites in the middle</em></strong></p>
<p>Congo is home to more than 235,000 Mennonites in three main groups: Mennonite Church of Congo, a the Mennonite Brethren Church of the Congo and the Evangelical Mennonite Church of Congo. Only the U.S., Ethiopia and India have more Anabaptists.</p>
<p>Dozens of Mennonite churches lie within the Kasai conflict area. The Mennonite Church of Congo—the main Anabaptist denomination represented in the Kasai region—reported 19 districts, each with five to eight congregations, directly affected by the violence.</p>
<p>Mennonites not directly affected are working to address the needs. Families—many very poor themselves— are hosting displaced people; congregations are collecting aid; and the churches are collaborating with MCC, AIMM and other agencies in a broader response.</p>
<p>The response will be focussed in Kikwit and Tshikapa, the largest destination for displaced people, and home to about 25 Mennonite churches.</p>
<p><a href="https://www.mwc-cmm.org/content/angolan-mennonites-welcome-refugees" rel="nofollow">Some people have fled to Angola</a>, where Mennonites are involved in hosting refugees, according to Mennonite World Conference. </p>
<p>Bruce Guenther, head of disaster response for MCC, said it is “alarming” to see how few aid agencies are involved in the Kasai region. MCC is proceeding “urgently and carefully” in collaboration with numerous organizations and churches on the ground in affected areas. He says MCC wants to “accompany the local church to respond as they see fit.”</p>
<p>Komuesa said the five priority needs at this point are food, healthcare, housing (especially with the rainy season approaching), schooling and reconciliation. While some sources indicate the ethnically charged conflict has tested the unity within the Mennonite church—which includes numerous ethnic groups which split along ethnic lines in the 1960s—he said harmony still exists within the church. “We need to reach out,” he said, “and share the peace and reconciliation that we have with other people.”</p>
<p>Mulanda Jimmy Juma, the MCC country representative for Congo, said via phone that reconciliation starts with the aid response. The goal will be to get people of different ethnic groups working side by side to deliver aid to diverse recipients. With considerable peacebuilding experience in various parts of Africa, he also spoke of the value of bringing children from different groups together, partly because when parents see diverse children playing together it helps change their perspectives.</p>
<p>Komuesa said the situation is gradually getting better, with tensions subsiding. As a pastor and government official, his message to the militias is to stop using violence. He said the role of government is to protect the population and restore security.</p>
<p><strong><em>Inner plea</em></strong></p>
<p>Hollinger-Janzen emphasized the amount of stress many Congolese live with. The majority of people struggle daily to feed their families. Add to that, he said, a legacy of colonial oppressions, western interference and a corrupt state system has never worked for the people. Then add a spark of violence.</p>
<p>“I try to think my way into that and imagine what it is like,” he said.</p>
<p>Grappling with the immensity of the situation, he said, “I want to believe that the God we worship can come to anyone in any situation . . . that somehow God’s love can be communicated no matter what.”</p>
<p>He encouraged people to support MCC's Kasai Response—among the organization’s other worthy causes—as a concrete expression of love. “Now is the time to respond,” he said. “This is why we are believers. This is what Jesus calls us to.”</p>
<p>Like Juma and Komuesa, he emphasized prayer as the primary response, “trying in some way to enter into what it would be like for people to live in this situation.”</p>
<p>“Let’s deepen our compassion,” Hollinger-Janzen concluded. And when we do not know what to pray, “the Spirit prays within us.”</p>
<p><em>To donate, see mcccanada.ca.</em></p>
<p><em>—Corrected Aug. 22, 2017</em></p>
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</script>Mon, 21 Aug 2017 20:37:57 +0000Ginny Hostetler7391 at http://canadianmennonite.orghttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/congolese-mennonites-suffer-atrocities-amid-displacement-14-million#commentsKindred Charitable Fund surpasses $1-million mark http://canadianmennonite.org/stories/kindred-charitable-fund-surpasses-1-million-mark
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p><img alt="" class="align-left" height="84" src="/sites/default/files/Kindred-logo.jpg" width="199" />Kindred Credit Union has reached a major milestone, marking $1 million in support for churches and charitable organizations since its inception in 1999. </p>
<p>A total of 146 groups have benefited from these grants, which have impacted people across southwestern Ontario. Putting total distribution over the $1-million mark in 2018, the Kindred Charitable Fund will be distributing $81,000 in grants to 18 community organizations. </p>
<p>This year’s grant recipients include organizations such as Sanctuary Homes, The Working Centre and Shalom Counselling Services. </p>
<p>The Raw Carrot, a social enterprise collaborating with the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Ontario received the annual Focus Grant of $10,000. The Raw Carrot employs people who receive disability support and have challenges that make it difficult to retain employment. </p>
<p>The grant will support a new Raw Carrot site in Kitchener, which will be modelled after the successful operation in Hamilton. Raw Carrot employees will prepare a variety of gourmet soups in a commercial kitchen at Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church. The soups will then be sold in farmers markets and retail locations across the region. </p>
<p>“This grant will go a long way to helping us get this local enterprise off the ground,” says Greg deGroot-Maggetti, MCC Ontario’s poverty program coordinator. “It really is transformative for the participants to be able to earn income and contribute to their community in a meaningful way.”</p>
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Thu, 15 Feb 2018 20:52:20 +0000Ginny Hostetler7957 at http://canadianmennonite.orghttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/kindred-charitable-fund-surpasses-1-million-mark#commentsTTV stores to close in Alberta, Ontario, Quebechttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/ttv-stores-close-alberta-ontario-quebec
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>In early February 2018, Ten Thousand Villages (TTV) began the process of permanently closing nine stores in four provinces. They include:</p>
<p>• Calgary (Heritage)<br />
• Saskatoon (2nd Ave.)<br />
• St. Jacobs, Ont.<br />
• Stratford, Ont.<br />
• Montreal, Que. (both Monkland and St. Denis outlets)<br />
• Independently operated stores in Red Deer, Alta., and Windsor, Ont., will also close their doors.<br />
• Lethbridge, Alta., was closed at the end of 2017.</p>
<p>The decision was made after an in-depth review of the profitability of Ten Thousand Villages stores across Canada by the board of Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Canada and the TTV advisory board.</p>
<p>“The retail industry in Canada continues to experience turmoil, as consumer habits and patterns shift, resulting in financial pressures and closures,” says Holly deGraaf, TTV’s chief executive officer. “Unfortunately, Ten Thousand Villages, MCC Canada’s fair trade social enterprise, has not been immune to these challenges.” </p>
<p>In the short term, TTV will close unprofitable company-operated stores to reduce overall losses. Continued focus will be placed on the remaining stores, to improve sales and streamline operations. Emphasis will also be given to wholesale and e-commerce channels. Products will still be available in the 25 remaining brick-and-mortar locations across Canada, as well as at <a href="http://www.tenthousandvillages.ca">www.tenthousandvillages.ca</a>.</p>
<p>“We have communicated this news to all Ten Thousand Villages staff, and our priority will be to work out these closures with respect for our staff, volunteers and the communities they serve, as well as our artisan partners,” says deGraaf. </p>
<p>Started in 1946 by MCC, TTV is North America’s oldest and largest fair-trade organization, with stores throughout the U.S. and Canada. TTV partners with independent, small-scale artisan groups, co-ops and workshops to bring their wares to North American markets. In 2017, TTV provided sustainable livelihoods to more than 20,000 artisans from 27 countries through its direct, fair-trade purchases of quality, handcrafted products.</p>
<p>“We recognize the impact of these difficult decisions on many individuals who work for and support the mission of Ten Thousand Villages,” says Rick Cober Bauman, MCC’s Canada executive director. “We are deeply concerned about the impact on artisans, some of whom will have reduced access to markets for their products. Artisans have been paid in full for the goods we have purchased from them, in keeping with fair-trade principles.”</p>
<p>MCC Canada and TTV ask shoppers to continue supporting TTV’s storefront and online shops, and seek their prayers for wisdom and direction in navigating market challenges and future planning. </p>
<p>“There is a high commitment from the whole of MCC and Ten Thousand Villages to see this remarkable ministry of sustainable livelihoods thrive,” says Cober Bauman. “We commit to continued communication with our communities as we pursue this objective.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photos field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/article_photos/05-29.jpg"><img src="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/article_photos/05-29.jpg?itok=HAe8aKHN" width="220" height="165" alt="" /></a><blockquote class="image-field-caption">
<p>The Ten Thousand Villages Heritage store in Calgary is one of nine Canadian stores that have already closed or will be closing in 2018. (TTV photo)</p>
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Fri, 09 Feb 2018 14:00:39 +0000Ginny Hostetler7955 at http://canadianmennonite.orghttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/ttv-stores-close-alberta-ontario-quebec#commentsSinger-songwriter leads ‘Reading the Bible with Jesus’ workshops http://canadianmennonite.org/stories/singer-songwriter-leads-%E2%80%98reading-bible-jesus%E2%80%99-workshops
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Bryan Moyer Suderman believes that paying attention to Jesus as interpreter of Scripture can transform how we, too, engage Scripture and each other.</p>
<p>The singer-songwriter and Bible teacher from Kitchener, Ont., experiences this firsthand as he leads interactive “Reading the Bible with Jesus” workshops for congregations across the U.S. and Canada since 2016, as a teaching associate of the Church Leadership Center of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary (AMBS). </p>
<p>In the workshops, Moyer Suderman facilitates a process of exploring how the New Testament gospels portray Jesus as interpreter of Scripture as he taught and healed those around him and joined in the hot-button conversations of the day. </p>
<p>“It’s often an aha moment for people when they realize how much Jesus draws upon what we call the Old Testament—constantly, and in all kinds of ways,” he says. “There can be a kind of stereotype about the Old Testament: ‘We’re so glad we have Jesus and don’t need to bother with all that Old Testament stuff.’ Well, if you pay attention to Jesus as interpreter of Scripture, you’re very hard pressed to make that case.”</p>
<p><strong>A shared process of discovery</strong><br />
The workshops bring together Moyer Suderman’s passion for biblical scholarship, creative musical expression and contextual ministry. He has spent the last 25 years finding creative ways to engage diverse communities in what he likes to call “the ongoing scriptural story of God’s love for the world.” Having worked in various ministry roles with churches in Colombia and Canada, he has focussed on writing Scripture-based songs for people of all ages since 2001. Songs from his eight studio albums have found their way into curricula, conventions and congregational singing throughout North America and beyond.</p>
<p>During the workshops, he leads participants in mapping out Jesus’ interactions with those around him in a selected gospel story. He then invites them to observe how Scripture is coming into play in the conversation, and together they flip back to the corresponding Old Testament texts and spend time exploring them. After that, they return to the gospel story and consider how what they’ve learned informs their understanding of the text. </p>
<p>“It’s fruitful to have people in the group approach the text in different ways,” he says. “When we express the experiences we bring to the text, we can approach the process together with trust and confidence that God has something here for us.”</p>
<p>The interactive process can also connect people who might not agree theologically, focussing on their common desire to grow as disciples of Jesus and helping equip them for the ongoing interpretive task.</p>
<p>Jewel Gingerich Longenecker, AMBS’s dean of Lifelong Learning, is excited about the seminary’s partnership with Moyer Suderman. “Bryan’s teaching ministry connects biblical scholarship with the life of the church and fits well with AMBS’s mission of preparing leaders who are rooted in the Word and growing in Christ,” she says.</p>
<p>Since 2016, Moyer Suderman has led experiences of “Reading the Bible with Jesus” with communities in eight states and two provinces. In April 2018, he’s planning a trip to Oregon in the Pacific Northwest Conference, followed by a retreat with Central Plains Mennonite Conference pastors and leaders in Schuyler, Neb. He is also scheduled to lead a workshop with pastors of Mennonite Church Alberta in mid-September.</p>
<p>He notes that when congregations invite him to lead a workshop, he has also often participated in Sunday morning worship and given an all-ages community concert, offering the congregation and community multiple ways to engage Scripture together.</p>
<p><em>See also <a href="http://canadianmennonite.org/ambs-pastors-week" rel="nofollow">“The Bible says what?”</a></em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photos field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/article_photos/04-25_0.jpg"><img src="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/article_photos/04-25_0.jpg?itok=94R2IOUW" width="220" height="145" alt="" /></a><blockquote class="image-field-caption">
<p>Bryan Moyer Suderman, teaching associate for the Church Leadership Center of Anabaptist Mennonite Biblical Seminary, leads a ‘Reading the Bible with Jesus’ workshop for Walnut Hill Mennonite Church, Goshen, Ind., at the Amigo Centre in Sturgis, Mich. (Photo by Jace Longenecker)</p>
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Tue, 06 Feb 2018 18:05:37 +0000Ginny Hostetler7950 at http://canadianmennonite.orghttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/singer-songwriter-leads-%E2%80%98reading-bible-jesus%E2%80%99-workshops#commentsArgentine Mennonites celebrate one hundred yearshttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/argentine-mennonites-celebrate-one-hundred-years
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Performing before hundreds of Mennonites and passersby at a park in downtown Buenos Aires, a drama troupe from the Mennonite church in Villa Adelina, Argentina, mimed challenges and struggles facing youth: violence, drugs, promiscuity, greed, and death itself. Representing Argentinian youth, actor Laura Burgos sometimes seemed mesmerized as actors impersonated threats, but she also sought to escape their grasp. A Christ figure in white, played by Diego Gonzalez, rescued her from malice, and came alongside to teach elegant dance steps.</p>
<p>Performed in September 2017, the drama was part of a festive three-hour event in Buenos Aires at Puerto Madero, where the first North American Mennonite missionaries arrived in 1917. The gathering featured large-screen videos, children’s programing, special music, poetry, preaching and greetings from other denominations. </p>
<p>Mennonites of Argentina were celebrating the centennial of the arrival of J.W. and Erma Shank and T.K. and Mae Hershey from Mennonite Board of Missions in the United States. John Lapp and Linda Shelly of Mennonite Mission Network in the United States and Nelson Kraybill of Mennonite World Conference brought greetings from their respective organizations.</p>
<p><figure class="image"><img alt="" height="629" src="/sites/default/files/article_photos/2018-Feb-5-Argentina-anniversary%20pic2.jpg" width="896" /><br /><figcaption><em>Mario Snyder speaks to several hundred Mennonites from across Argentina at the outdoor festivities marking the 100th anniversary of Mennonite witness in the country. The celebration was at Porto Madero, where the first missionaries landed in 1917. (Photo by J. Nelson Kraybill)</em></figcaption><br /></figure></p>
<p>Repeatedly Argentinian church leaders underscored three distinctives of Anabaptist witness: Christ is the centre of our faith, community is the centre of our lives, reconciliation is the centre of our work. Also evident were twin themes of empowerment by the Holy Spirit and commitment to mission. A charismatic movement that swept through Argentina in the 1970s and ’80s still energizes Mennonites of all ages.</p>
<p>Mennonites of Argentina honour the early missionaries who sacrificed much to come to their country. But the focus of today’s church is on current and future mission. Mennonites have divided the country into four regions, with mission strategies and church planting for each area, and the church is growing.</p>
<p>As the weekend of centennial festivities came to an end, several hundred church members from across the country sang toward the future God has for them: <em>“Muévase potente, la iglesia de Dios.”</em> (Move with strength, O church of God.)</p>
<p><em>J. Nelson Kraybill is president of Mennonite World Conference.</em></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photos field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/article_photos/2018-Feb-5-Argentina-anniversary.jpg"><img src="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/article_photos/2018-Feb-5-Argentina-anniversary.jpg?itok=cZQMyDHJ" width="220" height="129" alt="" /></a><blockquote class="image-field-caption">
<p>At festivities celebrating 100 years of Mennonite witness in Argentina, a youth drama troupe mimes the temptations and struggles that confront a young adult seeking to follow Jesus. (Photo by J. Nelson Kraybill)</p>
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Tue, 06 Feb 2018 17:39:58 +0000Ginny Hostetler7949 at http://canadianmennonite.orghttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/argentine-mennonites-celebrate-one-hundred-years#comments‘The level of mechanization was amazing to witness’http://canadianmennonite.org/stories/%E2%80%98-level-mechanization-was-amazing-witness%E2%80%99
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>For John Mbae, a Canadian Foodgrains Bank conservation agriculture technical specialist based in Kenya, a visit to the Canadian Prairies was informative and inspiring.</p>
<p> “I had the privilege of staying with a farm family in Saskatchewan,” says Mbae. “Although their farm operation was very large and profitable, they were very approachable and hospitable to me, an African farmer. We shared with each other like colleagues.”</p>
<p>Mbae supports partners, farmers and farm extension workers in Foodgrains Bank projects in Kenya that are teaching small-scale farmers how to implement conservation agriculture techniques on their farms. The purpose of his visit was to share with Canadians how assistance through the Foodgrains Bank and Global Affairs Canada is making a difference for people in Kenya experiencing hunger.</p>
<p>Over the course of a couple weeks, Mbae travelled more than 3,700 kilometres by vehicle through Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta, visiting a dozen communities and giving nine presentations to hundreds of people.</p>
<p>“The stories I shared of Kenyan farmers who have improved their lives through conservation agriculture projects—these were very well received by the Canadians in attendance,” he says. “They are stories that are important for them to hear. Some people were very moved by the stories about women farmers, for example, asking what more could be done to help women in Kenya who face these major challenges.”</p>
<p>In turn, Mbae himself was affected by the stories and experiences of the Canadian farmers he met. “It was impressive to me that farmers here have been using conservation agriculture techniques, like zero tillage, for up to 20 years or more,” he says. “I was able to visit a potato farm that invested heavily in crop rotations. It was very amazing to see how much farmers invest in cover crops, to manage the soil.”</p>
<p>He also noted how much technology is used on Canadian farms. “The level of mechanization was amazing to witness,” he says. “In Saskatchewan, I visited a dairy farm with a few people working there. We went out to see the animals, and when we got there and turned on the lights, the cows were milking themselves with the machines monitoring and controlling the milking.”</p>
<p>He was also deeply touched by the care and commitment shown by such farmers to helping others around the world. “I was struck by the longevity of the growing projects through which farmers and rural communities support the Foodgrains Bank,” he says. “They give of their time, land and equipment. Some of them have been doing this for more than 15 years.”</p>
<p>Overall, the visit was a success, says Theresa Rempel Mulaire, who manages the Scaling-Up Conservation Agriculture in East Africa program to which Mbae provides technical support. “It was important for John to see that conservation agriculture principles are applicable around the globe, and not just for small-scale African farmers,” she says, adding, “It was also great for John to meet the community of support for this work,” she says.</p>
<p>Through Global Affairs Canada the Canadian government supports the Scaling-Up Conservation Agriculture program, providing a 3:1 matching grant totalling $14 million over the five years of the program, which has a total value of $18.6 million.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photos field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/article_photos/04-50small.jpg"><img src="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/article_photos/04-50small.jpg?itok=ishfdC2n" width="220" height="142" alt="" /></a><blockquote class="image-field-caption">
<p>John Mbae visits the dairy farm of Walter and Peggy Wiebe, who are Bergthaler Mennonites living near Hague, Sask. After seeing the Wiebe’s fully-automated dairy barn, Mbae remarked, ‘The cows were milking themselves with the machines monitoring and controlling the milking.’ (Photo by Rick Block)</p>
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Tue, 06 Feb 2018 17:32:15 +0000Ginny Hostetler7948 at http://canadianmennonite.orghttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/%E2%80%98-level-mechanization-was-amazing-witness%E2%80%99#commentsSwiss Mennonites speak against nationalismhttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/swiss-mennonites-speak-against-nationalism
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>“Nationalism is on the rise in many parts of the world,” says Juerg Braeker, general secretary of Konferenz der Mennoniten der Schweiz/Conférence mennonite suisse (the Swiss Mennonite church). “Mennonites, because of their view of the relationship between church and state, should be better equipped to point out the dangers of nationalism.”</p>
<p>The Swiss Mennonite church held a public forum in November 2017 to equip attendees to better understand the complex issue as relates to an upcoming legislative change. There is a proposal to cancel a binding reference to the European Declaration of Human Rights in the Swiss constitution. Opponents are concerned the change will weaken commitment to human rights.</p>
<p>The event organizer Anabaptist Forum for Justice and Peace, a working group of the Swiss Mennonite conference, invited speakers from Mennonite churches of Switzerland, from Reformed and Roman-Catholic church, and from political movements that fight against this initiative of national self-determination. The six speakers covered historical, ethical, theological and political aspects of human rights.</p>
<p>Speakers examined “the relationship between Christian faith and human rights as a common base for ethical orientation for all humanity,” says Braeker.</p>
<p>Some 50 people attended, half from Mennonite churches, the rest from other relevant Christian or political organizations.</p>
<p>Theologian and mediator Dorothea Loosli said Mennonites have been crucial in the development of human rights processes. Their defense of religious freedom extends back to a treatise on human rights written in 1647 by Richard Overton, who had connections to Waterlander Mennonites in the Netherlands.</p>
<p>University of Zurich ethics professor Pierre Buehler said the ethical importance of rights is that they are not chosen or defined but inherent. Christian theology expresses this by considering humans as created beings, defined by God, so no ideology of a given group can limit these rights in an absolute way.</p>
<p>Christians in Switzerland who resist the movement to national self-determination are concerned that it does not recognize “a final transcendence [God] to which life—in its political, legal and social dimensions—is referred, and which therefore sets limits to the range of human self-determination.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photos field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/article_photos/2018-Jan-23-MWC-nationalism.jpg"><img src="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/article_photos/2018-Jan-23-MWC-nationalism.jpg?itok=JCVSiASG" width="220" height="124" alt="" /></a><blockquote class="image-field-caption">
<p>University of Zurich ethics professor Pierre Buehler addresses attendees of a public forum on human rights and faith, organized by the Mennonite conference in Switzerland. (Photo by Samuel Cacciabue)</p>
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Tue, 23 Jan 2018 16:48:52 +0000Ginny Hostetler7915 at http://canadianmennonite.orghttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/swiss-mennonites-speak-against-nationalism#commentsGrowing projects celebrate a successful 2017http://canadianmennonite.org/stories/growing-projects-celebrate-successful-2017
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>The Canadian Foodgrains Bank likes to talk about its “farm”—the thousands of hectares across Canada, from P.E.I. to B.C., that are planted by community growing projects to raise funds for the work of ending global hunger.</p>
<p>In 2017, the “farm” was 6,500 hectares of land that grew crops such as wheat, barley, corn, pulses, soybeans, canola and other grains. The proceeds from the sale of the crops planted on this “farm” will make a difference in the lives of people in great need, and also help people learn to grow more food in the longer term.</p>
<p>Here’s a snapshot of the “farm” this past growing season.</p>
<p><strong>Alberta</strong><br />
It wasn’t an easy growing season for many Alberta farmers, but Nelie Rylaarsdam of the Bear Lake Growing Project north of Grande Prairie isn’t complaining, noting the project had wanted to plant wheat, but the wet conditions meant a last-minute switch to barley. “It was too wet, and there was hail, so we are pleased with what we got.”</p>
<p>The project planted 64 hectares of barley this year. As of press time, the crop hadn’t been sold yet, but Rylaarsdam estimates the yield to upwards of 185 bushels s hectare, meaning a decent yield.</p>
<p>On harvest day, the weather was perfect, though. “It was a gorgeous day, nice and warm,” says Rylaarsdam. “About 75 people came out.”</p>
<p>“Growing conditions in Alberta were really all over the map,” says Terence Barg, regional representative for northern Alberta. “On one hand, there were several projects that either weren’t able to seed or to harvest this year. There were even a couple projects that have now been rained or hailed out two years in a row.”</p>
<p>A growing project in Rimbey, however, managed to bring in two crops: 2016’s canola crop that spent the winter on the field, as well as 2017’s barley crop.</p>
<p>“You never know when there will be a little miracle,” says Barg. “They got a good price on both crops.”</p>
<p><strong>Ontario</strong><br />
In a province that is home to more than a hundred community growing projects spread across the province, regional representative Dave Epp knows all about looking for the positive bits: “I’ve heard growing project leaders saying that they’re really not looking forward to harvest time—it’s been too wet! But when they go to harvest, they’re amazed at what they’re actually able to bring in.”</p>
<p>“And of course, there are the little miracles,” he adds. “A wagon can show up on harvest day to collect the crop, and it will already be half full. Or a longtime growing project farmer will look at this years' project field and will offer to harvest one of his own fields in lieu of the project field because the yield would be higher.”</p>
<p><strong>Atlantic Canada</strong><br />
A total of 16 projects across P.E.I, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick seeded a crop in 2017.</p>
<p>Ian MacHattie, the regional representative for Nova Scotia, said a provincial highlight was the creation of two new growing projects. “We had two of our ongoing projects split off and start two new projects, bringing us up from three to five,” he says. “We had a total of [40 hectares] of corn donated.”</p>
<p><strong>Saskatchewan</strong><br />
It was a successful year. “All 26 projects were harvested without difficulties, and many supporters came out to cheer the projects on and lend their support,” says Rick Block, regional representative for Saskatchewan.</p>
<p>“It was a great feeling to see the Hudson Bay Rotary project in eastern Saskatchewan bring in a strong wheat crop. Last year, it was so wet they weren’t able to harvest at all. There was a good feeling in the air this harvest day!”</p>
<p><strong>Manitoba</strong><br />
It was also a good year, according to regional representative Harold Penner. “There were some super harvests, and some average to maybe some below average harvests. All in all, I’d consider that a good year,” he says, adding, “A highlight for me was seeing 26 combines come out on harvest day in Killarney. And it was awesome seeing the community support as well. There was a huge crowd, over 200 people came out.”</p>
<p>For Tony Peters, treasurer for the Focus project in Elie, seeing different groups of Manitobans come together in support of people experiencing hunger is what growing projects are all about. “When you’re hungry, you don’t ask what church someone goes to or where they’re from. You’re hungry, and that’s all you think about,” he says. “So that’s what we think about: helping hungry people.”</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photos field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/article_photos/03-51.jpg"><img src="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/article_photos/03-51.jpg?itok=yRQz5t7v" width="220" height="87" alt="" /></a><blockquote class="image-field-caption">
<p>The 2017 Bear Lake growing project in Wembley, Alta., harvested 64 hectares of barley. Once sold, the proceeds will be used by the Canadian Foodgrains Bank to respond to emergency situations such as those in Syria, South Sudan and Kenya. (Canadian Foodgrains Bank photo)</p>
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Tue, 23 Jan 2018 16:30:53 +0000Ginny Hostetler7914 at http://canadianmennonite.orghttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/growing-projects-celebrate-successful-2017#commentsMWC responds in solidarity to disastershttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/mwc-responds-solidarity-disasters
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p>Mennonite World Conference (MWC) and Mennonite organizations collaborated to live out their faith with unified action in response to disasters that struck members of the global Anabaptist family in 2017.</p>
<p>Peru<br />
Torrential flooding caused by El Nino devastated homes and livelihoods of more than a million Peruvians. Together, Mennonite Central Committee (MCC), the International Community of Mennonite Brethren, MB Mission and MWC facilitated a six-month appointment of Antony Sanchez to assess needs, coordinate response, and train and equip the local churches to serve their communities.</p>
<p>“These Mennonite organizations working together, unified in response, were a testimony of unity,” says Sanchez. Practically and spiritually, they release “a synergetic power. The Spirit working amid us creates more unity, and increases faith and confidence that God is our provider who takes care of us.”</p>
<p>“The brothers and sisters from Peru were very welcoming, open and eager to learn and to help,” says Sanchez. “I have been able to affirm their dreams and, together with these organizations, respond to their needs, highlighting their capacities and skills, always remembering that we are members of a global family. We are in the hands of God as well as being God’s hands to bring his presence and blessings to others.”</p>
<p>MWC regional representative and trauma specialist Pablo Stucky visited in April 2017 and again with a Deacons Commission delegation in October.</p>
<p>Democratic Republic of the Congo<br />
A conflict brewing between tribal and political factions broke out into <a href="http://canadianmennonite.org/stories/congo-crisis-grinds" rel="nofollow">widespread violence</a> in 2017, compelling more than a million to flee their homes, sometimes after family or neighbours were killed in front of them. Thousands of members of Communauté Mennonite au Congo, one of three Mennonite national churches, are living in the forest or have fled to refugee camps in other parts of the country or across the border to Angola, or received the hospitality of local Mennonites.</p>
<p>MWC is cooperating with Mennonite Church Canada Witness, MCC, Mennonite Mission Network and six other Mennonite organizations on the delivery of strategic, locally sourced humanitarian assistance through churches and partners to some 200 families.</p>
<p>A Deacons Commission delegation was scheduled to visit Congolese Mennonite churches in December. “The deacons walk with the churches, listening to their stories, praying, and showing that the global church is in solidarity with them,” says Deacons Commission chair Henk Stenvers.</p>
<p>Southeast Asia<br />
In August 2017, <a href="http://canadianmennonite.org/stories/relief-efforts-underway-address-flooding-displacement-south-asia" rel="nofollow">monsoon floods</a> washed through Nepal and parts of India and Bangladesh, affecting millions and killing hundreds.</p>
<p>Anabaptist partners MCC and Brethren in Community Welfare Society are helping 323 families recover their livelihoods—fisheries, vegetable farms and kitchen gardens—and providing shelter materials and mosquito nets. In addition, the project will construct 15 boreholes and provide support to repairs to homes of seven local Brethren in Christ staff.</p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photos field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/article_photos/02-25_1.jpg"><img src="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/article_photos/02-25_1.jpg?itok=yxbx5_jY" width="220" height="160" alt="" /></a><blockquote class="image-field-caption">
<p>The Mennonite World Conference delegation is pictured with local members of the Mennonite Brethren church in Nuevo Horizonte, Peru. Following the floods, ‘our hearts were left totally destroyed . . . but thanks to MWC, who have come to visit us and have given us this uplifting and encouraging word, a word of hope and love,’ says Antonio García Dominguez, right, the leader of Conferencia Peruana Hermanos Menonitas. (MWC photo by Joanna Chappa)</p>
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Tue, 23 Jan 2018 16:09:15 +0000Ginny Hostetler7913 at http://canadianmennonite.orghttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/mwc-responds-solidarity-disasters#commentsAnabaptist Christians celebrate Christmas around the worldhttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/anabaptist-christians-celebrate-christmas-around-world
<div class="field field-name-body field-type-text-with-summary field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><p style="margin:0cm 0cm 12pt"><span><span>Christian communities around the world celebrate Christmas, yet each culture has its own traditions. Here, Anabaptist brothers and sisters from different regions share how they celebrate Christmas.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 12pt"><span><span><strong>Light: The Netherlands</strong><br />
Christmas is my favourite time in the year. I associate it with Christmas music, candlelight and good times with family and friends. Most importantly, Christmas is a time in which I am reminded about the light that Jesus brought into the world.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 12pt"><span><span>In the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg and Northern France, we celebrate the name day of Saint Nicholas (6 December) by giving gifts. Mostly families with young children celebrate Sinterklaas. We give gifts on another day than Christmas, because Christmas is about celebrating the gift from God: Jesus’ birth. Separating the two days leaves time for focussing on the message of Christmas, while sharing presents with family and friends on another evening.<br />
—Jantine Huisman, Young AnaBaptists Committee member, Europe representative</span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 12pt"><span><span><strong>Ugahari: Indonesia</strong><br />
In Indonesia, Christmas comes in the rainy season, the wettest time throughout the year. But it is hot! Our tradition in Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia (Muria Christian Church of Indonesia), one of the Mennonite church in Indonesia, is to do social activities. We visit orphanages or nursing homes, share some rice wrapped in banana leaves with people who are homeless, and perform <em>wayang kulit</em> (shadow puppets) or <em>wayang orang</em> (theatrical dance) with stories from the Bible.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 12pt"><span><span>Our special tradition is to make Christmas trees from recycled materials like used plastic bottles, CDs, umbrellas, plastic bags, old newspapers, or from fruit and vegetables. These activities are symbols of “ugahari,” which means simplicity, frugality and humility, also the wholeness of creation. In this way, we’re following the footsteps of the Lord in Christmas.<br />
—Mark Ryan, editor of Berita GKMI magazine, Central Java</span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 12pt"><span><span><strong>The reason: Ethiopia</strong><br />
In Ethiopia, we celebrate Christmas on 6 January, due to the Julian calendar that we use and also because of the Orthodox church’s influence on the culture. Christmas is one of the biggest celebrations, next to Easter.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 12pt"><span><span>The typical Christmas tradition in most Anabaptist churches in Ethiopia is that children present a play and a song about Christmas, and teenagers present a play that reminds us of the life that we need to live, for the very reason that Christ was born. Afterwards, the children and teenagers serve a snack—candy and the like—to the congregation. In my congregation (Gurd Shola Meserete Kristos Church), the program takes place on Sunday, a week before the date of Christmas.<br />
—Tigist Tesfaye Gelagle, Young AnaBaptists staff mentor</span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 12pt"><span><span><strong>Marketplace story: Canada</strong><br />
There is a tradition to present a “living nativity” at Christmas, in which costumed people act as Mary and Joseph to create a life-sized “manger scene.” But some North American church go even bigger. They create a miniature Bethlehem town and invite everyone to come experience a first-century re-enactment. Volunteers in roles from shopkeeper to shepherd share the story of Christ’s birth as visitors walk through “town.”</span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 12pt"><span><span>“We enjoyed doing ‘A Night in Bethlehem,’ as we called it, for two years,” says pastor Greg Bright of Gateway Community Church, a Mennonite Brethren congregation in Canora, Sask., Canada. “We received a positive response from the community and extensive coverage in our local paper.”<br />
—Karla Braun, Mennonite World Conference writer</span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 12pt"><span><span><strong>Kingdom of God: Mexico</strong><br />
What do we do at Christmas in the Anabaptist community Dios con Nosotros (God with Us)? Essentially, we seek to combine the elements of Mexican culture and the Christian tradition in a way that most faithfully reflects the advent of Jesus on Earth. For example, we use the Advent wreath as well as the <em>posada</em> (a Franciscan tradition used to evangelize the Indigenous people. It is this tradition that gave rise to the piñata). </span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 12pt"><span><span>During the <em>posada</em>, we as a church body offer punch and sweets to our neighbors and we share our faith. Our Christmas church service ends with a community dinner. This year, we would like to hold a “solidarity gift swap” instead of exchanging gifts with everyone so that our brothers and sisters do not have to spend so much. This is how we all learn together about the meaning of Christmas. The Lord is born, and he has brought us peace! But also, justice, and he continues to announce the Kingdom of God through his church.</span></span></p>
<p style="margin:0cm 0cm 12pt"><span><span>In my family, we sing hymns that celebrate Jesus and his love, before eating dinner at midnight on December 24. Our celebrations end on January 6.<br />
—Rodrigo Pedroza, pastor of Dios con Nosotros (God with Us) Church</span></span></p>
</div></div></div><div class="field field-name-field-photos field-type-image field-label-hidden"><div class="field-items"><div class="field-item even"><a href="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/article_photos/2017-Dec-12-MWC-Christmas.jpg"><img src="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/article_photos/2017-Dec-12-MWC-Christmas.jpg?itok=0HUUnyq6" width="220" height="95" alt="" /></a><blockquote class="image-field-caption">
<p>To celebrate Christmas, members of Gereja Kristen Muria Indonesia churches act out Bible stories in the style of wayang orang. (Photo courtesy of berita GKMI)</p>
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</div><div class="field-item odd"><a href="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/article_photos/2017-Dec-12-MWC-Christmas-pic%202.jpg"><img src="http://canadianmennonite.org/sites/default/files/styles/medium/public/article_photos/2017-Dec-12-MWC-Christmas-pic%202.jpg?itok=n2YHpiEx" width="220" height="144" alt="" /></a><blockquote class="image-field-caption">
<p>Jantine Huisman, as a child, poses with Christmas decorations. (Photo courtesy of Jantine Huisman)</p>
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Sat, 23 Dec 2017 13:28:53 +0000Ginny Hostetler7842 at http://canadianmennonite.orghttp://canadianmennonite.org/stories/anabaptist-christians-celebrate-christmas-around-world#comments